Restless nomad, blithe crosser of borders, charismatic self-publicist – Michael Buthe (1944–1994) numbers among the glittering artistic personalities of the outgoing 20th century. His oeuvre is anarchic and highly varied, drawing from the world´s cultures, juggling kitsch and clichés, combining calculation with sensuality, searching for the magic in the everyday, celebrating poetry and spirituality in a high-tech present.
As far back as the ground-breaking Documenta 5 (1972), Buthe´s art of the "individual mythology" attracted widespread notice, and to this date his idiosyncratic, energetic works exercise a fascination. The Ernst Barlach Haus Hamburg honours Michael Buthe with an exhibition bringing together around 80 drawings, collages, sculptures and objects. Taking pride of place here are works from the Sixties and Seventies, including privately owned works receiving their first public airing.

Biography
1944 Born in Sonthofen, Germany
1964-1965 Studies at the Werkkunstschule Kassel with Adolf Buchleiter
1965-1968 Studies at the Staatliche Hochschule der Bildenden Künste in Kassel with Arnold Bode, followed by move to Cologne
1970 First of several fairly long stays in Morocco
1976 Villa Romana Fellowship in Florence
1981 First visiting lecturer at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, lectureship there from 1983
1994 Dies in Bonn-Bad Godesberg